


I Thought You Would Always Be Here

by BlueMonkeyZ



Category: Teen Titans (Animated Series), Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-05
Updated: 2016-09-05
Packaged: 2018-08-13 05:36:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7964527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueMonkeyZ/pseuds/BlueMonkeyZ
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Conner visits Dick one last night before leaving.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Thought You Would Always Be Here

**Author's Note:**

> I was originally going to include this in another story, but in short, the scene became unnecessary. I really liked it though, so I refit it into a one-shot short story.

Dick ran a gloved hand through his thick black hair as he stared from the Tower out across the bay and toward the vivid lights of San Francisco. So much had happened, and it seemed like so much was still happening. He hadn't changed into civilian street clothes in what felt like days, only jumping from one black and geared suit to the next, one mask after another. Quietly, keeping the lights low and mood calming, Dick made his way into the small kitchen of the equipped apartment and searched through the refrigerator until he found something cold in a pitcher. He seemed to remember every apartment with a known occupant would be filled with such assortments, something that Bruce's lab-workers had created regarding the small system of robots that bustled throughout the inner workings of the Tower. Dick smiled to himself, thinking that the maintenance robot had probably changed the tea multiple times during his visit, he just hadn't noticed.

As he poured the tea into a glass full of ice cubes, the motion sensor at the door beeped. Dick jumped slightly at the sound, almost dropping the pitcher. He took a deep but quick breath and turned to the doorway. "Come in."

The door slid open. He'd half-expected it to be Starfire. He should have been so lucky. It wouldn't have been too bad for Garfield, Jaime or Vic to show up, probably for a bite to eat or some video games on the couch. Terra might have needed an extra few minutes of training too. But it wasn't Terra, or anyone he'd been expecting. It was Connor, looking slightly awkward and hesitant as he lingered in the doorway.

Dick gestured with his head for Connor to come in before continuing to pour the tea. He would have said something, or maybe smiled, but with everything going on in the past few days, Dick wasn't exactly in the most positive mood. Still, he wasn't bellow such a barbaric level as to not say anything at all. He grabbed a glass and more ice, pouring a second cup.

"Tea?" Dick asked.

Connor nodded. "What kind?"

Dick chuckled. "Umm, 'Tea' tea."

Though his facial features remained the same, Connor's ice-blue eyes burned with confusion. Dick abruptly ended his laughter and slid the glass across the bar as Connor approached and leaned his elbows onto it.

"Was there something you needed?" Dick asked before taking a light sip.

Connor quietly studied the contents of the glass before answering. There must have been something about the color of the liquid and the way the ice slowly melted if one watched closely enough.

"I don't know," Connor muttered, squinting at the glass, "I guess I'm just tired."

There was another pause before Dick muttered, "Guess I am too. We've all been doing a lot lately, I think it's a good time for a break. For me, all I need is to change into some regular clothes for once, even if it's just for a bit."

Connor sipped the tea. "A break." he parroted, "Wouldn't that be something. I've been alive for all of two years, but I feel like it's been an eternity. All these things I do, the way I grip this cup, the way I talk, the way I walk, all of it manufactured and placed into the right parts of my synthetic kryptonian-human DNA strands."

Dick raised an eyebrow. "You're being oddly thoughtful."

"Maybe because I'm finally beginning to encounter things that even the most skilled doctors who created me couldn't even think of," Connor muttered with a grim tone.

"Like what?"

"Like... these emotions..."

Dick stopped in the middle of unzipping the back of his suit. He'd figured Connor wouldn't necessarily care if he got changed, seeing as how he was in the full swing of talking about his genetic creation and how he felt about. Now he wasn't so sure what to think.

"Emotions?" Dick asked, "Kon, maybe you should talk to Cassie..."

"Don't call me that!" Connor snapped, slamming the glass onto the bar. The tea slushed wildly and spilled out the sides of the cup, along with several half-melted ice cubes, landing in a wet heap on the counter-top.

Dick didn't moved. Connor watched helplessly as cracks spread like a spiderweb throughout the glass cup until it quietly shattered into a small pile in front of him, tea bleeding out into a light brown pool.

"I... I hurt her, Dick," Connor said, "I hurt her real bad."

Dick, who'd finally come to the conclusion that he was more interested in getting out of the suit than his own safety at this point, finished unzipping and pulled off the jacket and tight sports shirt beneath it. Then, slowly so as not to anger the wounds on his thigh from the previous evening, he peeled off his pants and boots, left only in his mask and black underwear. Connor's eyes fell on the scars and bruises.

"Like that," Connor whispered, " I did that." Then he snapped out of it, as if every vision and memory of whatever was making him this way had vanished in a puff of smoke. "I should go. I'm sure Starfire will be here soon and..."

"If you think things between you and Cassie are bad?" Dick interrupted, "Let me tell ya, several of these scratches might be from her."

Connor smirked and shook his head. "You sure know how to pick 'em."

"And as usual," Dick muttered, "You know how to make a huge mess."

Connor glanced down at the counter-top. "Oh yeah, sorry about that."

Dick waved a nonchalant hand at the shattered glass and made his way over to the couch where he slumped onto the cushions. "Rest is my main concern at this point. My guess is you need some too. Come on. There's space on the couch. You can play some games if you want to."

Connor leaned back beside Dick as the TV activated and the Twilight Zone began playing on the HD screen. He remembered how Dick had mentioned that black-and-white TV shows put him to sleep and wondered if it would have the same effect on his kryptonian-human mind.

The episode was certainly interesting, depicting a woman in a hospital, her face covered in bandages. The doctors and nurses surrounding her are mostly hidden in shadow, and there's a constant sense of foreboding, with all the medical personnel talking about how the woman with the covered face is extremely ugly and that they are trying to fix her features with surgeries. Toward the end of the episode, the bandages are finally removed, revealing not a single hideous deformity but rather a gorgeous model-like physiognomy. Connor was confused, as there was absolutely nothing wrong with the woman; that is, until she begins to panic and the doctors turn the lights on, revealing all of their faces, which looked melted and sodden.

Dick smiled. "I will be so mad if you aren't confused."

Connor kept his eyes on the screen. "Don't be mad then, because I'm very confused."

The episode began to close, with the woman being sent to a commune full of her "own kind". The man tells the upset woman that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

"It's an alternate reality," Connor concluded, "it's a society where everyone is our perception of ugly, and the few who are our version of beautiful are outcasts of society. No one accepts them, because of their 'deformities'."

Dick nodded. "It's easy to overthink, but yeah, that's the basic gist."

Connor turned to Dick, his eyelids heavy from watching the black-and-white screen. "Why'd you show me this?"

"You may not believe me, but it was the next one on the playlist, I didn't select it just because you were here," Dick said, shrugging nonchalantly, "But I'll tell you, it's stories like that one that help me remember why I'm fighting. Meta-humans shouldn't be hunted or banned just because they are different. They should embrace their gifts, they should become who they are meant to be without society holding them back."

Connor chuckled deep in his throat and shook his head. "It's a day-dream, Dick. No matter how many people you save, no matter what the Justice League or the Titans accomplish for the good of mankind, there will always be those who are against us. And maybe you're right, maybe meta-humans will be accepted some day."

"But not you?" Dick muttered.

Connor shook his head. "Not me. I'm not a meta-human, I'm not even human. Hell, I'm barely Kryptonian. I'm what I am; an abomination, a spawn from nothing but the instruments of mad scientists. I can't be a part of other humans, or kryptonians. I'm not a part of anyone."

Dick sat up and leaned toward Connor in an attempt to catch his attention. "Connor, you are part of something. You're a Titan. We're a family, and that makes you my brother."

Connor leaned in. Dick was taken slightly by surprise from the sudden closeness but pulled back only slightly as Connor's lips met his. It wasn't anything lingering, or deeply romantic. Their lips were simply pressed together for a moment, in a way that Dick couldn't necessarily describe. There was an emotion there, seeping through the air; Less than passionate love, but more than good friendship or brotherhood.

And like a wisp of smoke, Connor pulled back and what had just happened felt like a dream one couldn't remember after waking up. Dick leaned away from Connor and relaxed onto the pillows of the couch, feeling only a little perplexed. Connor remained where he sat, his eyes falling on the distant lights of the city.

"I'm leaving, Dick," Connor finally said, "And I came to tell you goodbye..."

"What?" Dick almost yelled, sitting up, "Connor, you can't go, we need you..."

"I won't be gone for forever," Connor said, cutting Dick off abruptly, "But there are some things I just... I need to figure things out."

"Just figure things out here." Dick said, "Connor, don't go. We'll talk to Cassie together, I'm sure we can..."

Connor stood. "You've been a very good friend, Dick. Probably my only true friend since my... birth. Tell Cassie I'll miss her. Beast Boy and Starfire too."

Dick stood too. "I can't stop you, can I."

Connor smiled and shook his head. He gave Dick a quick hug, turned away and walked out the door, quietly letting it slide closed behind him.

Dick slowly removed his mask and dropped it onto the cold floor.


End file.
